Rea Vaya's BRT bridge over M1 well on track

Details

08 March 2016

Not one but two multi-million rand new bridges are being built over the M1 highway between Sandton and Alexandra as part of Rea Vaya's expansion north-eastwards. (Photos by Elias Nkabinde - VIEW GALLERY)

Artist's impression (2014) of the cable-stayed BRT bridge, looking from the north - with the cycling-pedestrian bridge alongside Grayston Drive just visible near the top left.ABOVE: March 2016 photo of the bridge under construction, also from the north. (View gallery)

There'll be a whole new "generation" of bus rapid transit (BRT) commuters when Rea Vaya's Sandton, Alexandra, central Joburg route starts operating in 2017 - and one of the pleasures they can look forward to is crossing the M1 highway on a spectacular new BRT-only bridge.

Construction is already well advanced on the bridge, which besides its practical importance will have great symbolic value, in particular for residents of Alexandra, one of South Africa's oldest townships - once known as "Dark City" because of the long period it went without electricity under apartheid.

Bridging the Alex, Sandton divide

March 2016: Construction of the two doubly braced main pylons that will support the cables. The pylons will eventually stand about 52 metres high. (Photo by Elias Nkabinde - View gallery)

Rea Vaya's new route will form the backbone of Johannesburg's second new Corridor of Freedom, connecting Alexandra not only to central Joburg but also to its historically segregated, disproportionately wealthy neighbour: Sandton.

The multi-million rand BRT bridge is in fact one of two new M1 bridges being built between Alex and Sandton as part of the Rea Vaya network extension. The other, about 1.5-kilometres south of the BRT bridge, is the iconic cycling-pedestrian bridge that will run alongside the Grayston Drive bridge.

The estimated 10 000 people who walk or cycle daily between Alex and Sandton will thus be three times catered for, since the BRT bridge will not only come with its own pedestrian walkway, but more importantly, will offer Alex residents the affordable, convenient option of riding Rea Vaya to Sandton and back.

Major work of engineering, construction

January 2016: construction of the western ramp connecting the bridge with Katherine Street, prior to the laying of the super beams across the highway. (Photo by Elias Nkabinde - View gallery)

Coming from the Sandton CBD, Rea Vaya's buses will ease along Katherine Street on a traffic-bypassing BRT lane all the way from West Street until about one kilometre past Grayston Drive, where they will peel off onto the curving, gradually rising western ramp leading onto the cable-stayed BRT bridge over the M1.

On the other side of the highway, Rea Vaya's buses will descend via the eastern ramp onto Lees Street, close to where it intersects with Pretoria Main Road, then take a right into the BRT-only lane headed first to Alex and then on via Louis Botha Avenue to Hillbrow and Parktown.

January 2016: One of a series of massive reinforced concrete foundational pillars that will support the ascending-descending ramps leading on and off the bridge on both sides of the M1. (Photo by Elias Nkabinde - View gallery)

It's a major piece of engineering and construction, which is being overseen for the City of Joburg by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA).

From ramp entry to ramp exit, the BRT flyover will stretch approximately 255 metres, including the 60 to 70 metres spanned by the cable-stayed bridge itself. It will be between 8 and 13 metres wide, while the two doubly braced main pylons supporting the cables will stand about 52 metres high.

The ascending/descending ramp connections, for their part, will be supported by a series of giant reinforced concrete bases on either side of the highway.

Construction well on schedule

Construction got under way in March 2015 and is scheduled for completion in November/December 2016 - and as of now it's looking well on schedule, with the ramp bases mostly complete, the "super beams" over the highway in place, and the twin pylons climbing higher by the day.

During a one-on-one tour of the construction site in late January, Resident Engineer Trevor Nxumalo told reporter-photographer Elias Nkabinde that all the foundations and groundwork for the bridge had already been completed.

"We are currently adding the bridge pylons, and afterwards the main focus will be the deck and the pedestrian onramps of the bridge."